Pretending
by elsiefay
Summary: Dick helps Jason out and they both do a little pretending. Could be read as either slash or family/friendship depending what you prefer


Jason, Dick, and the rest of the Bats are not mine and no copyright infringement is intended, honest. I don't own much anyway and I'd really like to have money to buy the Nightwing Kotobukiya figure when it comes out, so please don't sue me.

"Family is what happens when you're busy making other plans," Dick insists, pushing Jason back down onto the couch. "John Lennon said that."

"No Dick, he really didn't. He didn't even sing that. Close but no…" Jason tries to stand up again, broken leg and all.

"He would have said that if he was a member of our family. And seriously Jason, stay still. How can you terrorize Gotham if you don't let me set your leg?"

"I don't terrorize it, I...augh!" Jason yelps in pain as Dick firmly repositions the bone. Jason's vision starts to fade to white around the edges.

"Head between your knees," he can hear Dick distantly saying.

Jason obeys as best he can with a busted leg. Just biding his time until he can get back at Dick, he assures himself. While he plans his revenge and tries to avoid passing out he can feel Dick rubbing circles on his back.

"Okay now?" Dick asks as Jason cautiously raises his head.

"Never better." It's sarcasm of course but really Jason can't think of too many times in the recent past that have been better than this. Sure his leg is broken, but for once he doesn't have to set it himself. Yeah he's sitting on a heavily patched couch in his decrepit apartment, but at least he has furniture now. And of course Dick is a pain in the ass, but at least Jason isn't dead. And really that's what it's all about, not being dead.

"I'm gonna wrap that leg now," Dick says, crouching back down in front of the chair. "You need a hard cast for it though. Maybe you can go to the hospital in the morning. Will you need a lift?"

Jason shakes his head. "I got it." He has no intention of going to the hospital. And the second Dick leaves Jason is going to pack his things, throw his house key in the river, and find a new safe house. He knows that; he's pretty sure Dick knows that. He can can pretend though. He wants to pretend- pretend that he's normal, that he can trust Dick, that he can trust anyone. He can forget for a few minutes that when the world isn't trying to find some new way to kill him, his brain is.

Dick is talking as he wraps Jason's leg. He's mangling song lyrics and mixing movie quotes and filling all the silence in Jason's apartment.

Jason likes his silence. It's his. He should be mad at Dick for disturbing it and he's sure he will be in just a few minutes but right now he wants to enjoy the chatter.

"We should have dinner some time," Dick says suddenly, interrupting his own stream of babble.

"Us?" Jason asks dubiously. "Dinner?" Dick has clearly lost his mind. Jason is now the sane one and he relishes it. Contemplating what toxin or head injury could cause Dick to offer such an invitation distracts Jason from his leg.

"You have breakfast with Tim," Dick points out.

"Tattletale," Jason mutters. "Besides the replacement had intel I needed. We weren't out having a mimosa brunch or something."

"Okay," Dick says agreeably. "Okay. We can still have dinner though."

"Where will we go?" Jason asks. He's not going to have dinner with Dick, but since he's pretending tonight anyway he might as well go all out.

"Italian food. Olive Garden," Dick says decisively and Jason snorts a laugh. Dick would see endless breadsticks as the height of Italian cuisine.

"It sounds good." Jason says. He wonders why he's so keen on pretending tonight. It's probably just the pain, and maybe how warm Dick's hands are against his leg.

"All set," Dick announces, leaning back and admiring his handiwork on Jason's leg. "It's not a fix but at least it's a patch until you can get to a doctor."

Jason nods. It'll do.

"Do you have a bed hidden somewhere?" Dick asks, glancing around the studio apartment.

"Not in this safe house. The couch isn't that bad." The endorphins from the pain are starting to wear off and Jason is shaky, sore, and exhausted. He doesn't argue when Dick helps him maneuver his leg onto the couch and covers him with a blanket.

"Thanks," Jason mumbles, barely awake anymore.

"No problem Littlewing." Dick smiles softly. "If it's okay with you I'm just going to pretend this is how we always get along."

**Jason rolls his eyes,but it makes him feel better to know he isn't the only one choosing to spend the night pretending.**


End file.
